Antenatal Care and Advice for Pregnant Mother
Definition of Antenatal Care (ANC):
Prenatal care, also known as antenatal care is a type of preventive healthcare with the goal of providing regular check-ups that allow doctors or midwives to treat and prevent potential health problems throughout the course of the pregnancy while promoting healthy lifestyles that benefit both mother and child.
Antenatal Care and Advice for Pregnant Women:
A. Dietary advice:
1. The diet during pregnancy should be adequate to provide-
- Good maternal health,
- Optimum fetal growth,
- The strength and vitality required during labour and,
- Successful lactation.
2. The pregnancy diet ideally should be light, nutritious, easily digestible and rich in protein, minerals and vitamins.
3. The diet should consist in addition to the principal food at least half liter, if not, 1 liter of milk, plenty of green vegetables and fruits. The amount of salt should be of sufficient amount to make the food tasty.
B. Antenatal hygiene:
1. Rest and sleep.
2. Bowel:
Constipation is common- It may cause backache and abdominal discomfort. Regular bowel movement may be facilitated by regulation of diet taking plenty of fluids, vegetables and milk.
3. Bathing:
The patient should take daily bath but be careful against slipping in the bathroom due to imbalance.
4. Coitus:
- Generally coitus is not restricted during pregnancy.
- Release of prostaglandins and oxytocin with coitus may cause uterine contractions.
- Women with increasing risk of miscarriage or preterm labour should avoid.
C. Smoking & alcohol:
- It is better to stop smoking & alcohol consuming.
- Hazards of smoking: Abortion, smaller baby (LBW).
- Hazards of alcohol: IUGR & fetal mal-development.
D. Immunization:
TT immunization: It not only protects the mother but also the neonates.
1st dose: At 5th month;
2nd dose: At 7th month.
E. General advices:
1. Advice to attend for antenatal check-up positively on the schedule date of visit.
2. The patient should be instructed to report as early as possible if some serious symptoms arise; such as intense headache, P/V bleeding or discharge absent or less fetal movements, disturbed sleep with restlessness, urinary trouble epigastric pain, vomiting, scanty micturition etc.
F. She is advised to come to hospital for consideration of admission in the following circumstances:
1. Painful uterine contractions at interval of about 10 minutes or earlier and continued for at least an hour suggestive of onset of labour.
2. Sudden gush of watery fluid per vaginam- suggestive of premature rupture of the membranes.
3. Active vaginal bleeding, however slight it may be.
Maria Khatun Mona is a Founder and Editor of Nursing Exercise Blog. She is a Nursing and Midwifery Expert. Currently she is working as a Registered Nurse at Evercare Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh. She has great passion in writing different articles on Nursing and Midwifery. Mail her at “maria.mona023@gmail.com”